By Ben Levisohn

The S&P 500 looks set to open higher and rise for just the second time in seven days–and for once the move has little to do what the Federal Reserve may or may not do.

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Standard & Poor’s 500 futuresgained 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures have ticked up 0.2, and the Nasdaq 100 has risen 0.5% after after the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level since 2007 and China’s economy showed signs of recovery.

First China. HSBC’s Flash China manufacturing purchasing managers’ indexrose to 50.1 in August, up from 47.7 in July. A reading above 50 indicates an economy may be growing. HSBC’s Hongbin Qu, its chief China economist, explains the importance of the data:

China’s manufacturing growth has started to stabilise on the back of modest improvements of new business and output. This is mainly driven by the initial filtering through of recent fine-tuning measures and companies’ restocking activities, despite the continuous external weakness. We expect further filtering-through, which is likely to deliver some upside surprises to China’s growth in the coming months.

The number of claims in the month ended Aug. 17 declined to 330,500 a week on average, the least since November 2007, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. Compared with a week earlier, claims rose by 13,000 to 336,000, in line with the median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Firings are waning as employers hold on to workers to meet sales, which may be a precursor to bigger gains in payrolls once the effects of federal budget cuts and higher payroll taxes fades in the second half of 2013. Growth in employment, together with rising incomes, will help buoy consumer confidence and spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

In earnings news, Hain Celestial (HAIN) has gained 7% to $77.99 after it reported a profit of 65 cents a share, above forecasts for 61 cents, and predicted higher-than-expected revenue and earnings for the year.

There was plenty of devastation on the Street this morning, however. Hormel Foods (HRL) has dropped 1.4% to $41.52 after it said it earned a profit of 42 cents a share, below forecasts for 45 cents, while L Brands (LTD) has dropped 2.3% to $58.50 after the company beat second-quarter earnings forecasts but said third-quarter profits would come in between 23 cents and 28 cents a share, below analyst projections for 29 cents.

Those losses were nothing compared to Sears Holding (SHLD), which has dropped 6.6% to $40.40 after reporting a loss of $1.46 a share, missing analyst forecast for a loss of $1.07. And check out Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). The retailer has dropped 18.5% to $38.16 after it reported a profit of 14 cents a share, missing its own forecast of 28 cents to 33 cents for the quarter. Abercrombie also said it would earn 40 cents to 45 cents during the current quarter, below analyst forecasts.

About Stocks To Watch

Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.